Machine for laying sole-edges



15.70. WOODARD. MACHINE FORLAYING SOLE BDGES.

(No Model.)

No. 478,299. Patented July 5, 1892.

' UNTTED STATES ATENT Triton'.

EDVVAR-D C. lVOQDARD, OF ABBOCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

MACHINE FOR LAYlNG SOLE-EDGES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 478,299, dated July 5,1892.

Application filed November 16, 1391i. Serial No. 411.997 (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, EDWARD lC. WooDARD, of Brockton, in the county ofPlymouth and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented certain new and usefulImprovements in Means for Laying Feather-Edges of Inner Soles, of whichthe following is a specification.

This invention has reference to machines for manufacturing welted bootsor shoes. It is well known that the inner sole of a welted boot or shoeis beveled or tapered, so that its margin presents a feather-edgebearing against the inner surface of the upper. The pressure of theupper against this thin featheredge causes it to curl upwardly, and thusfail to give the upper a well-defined shape at the edge of the innersole.

My invention has for its object to enable the feather-edge to be attenedor bent downwardly into the plane of the main'upper surface of the innersole, at the same time creasing or sharply folding the upper over theedge of the inner sole to give the u pper a well-deiined shape close tothe point Where it is attached to the welt.

To this end my invention consists in the construction and combination ofparts, as hereinafter described and claimed.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, Figurel represents a side elevation, partly in section, of a machine embodyingmy invention. Fig. 2 represents a top View of a portion of the machine,both of said iigures showinga boot or shoe as presented to the machine.Fig. 3 represents an end elevation of a portion of the machine.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all thefigures.

In the drawings, arepresentsa supportingframe, which may be of anysuitable form, and is adapted to be secured to a base or support, suchas a bench or table. Journaled in a bearing a. on the upper portion ofthe frame a is a shaft b, to one end of which is affixed a roll c,preferably made of steel, having a smoothly-'polished periphery, whichis made cylindrical, or substantially so, from the inner end of the rollpartly to its outer end, and is then curved or rounded inwardly to meetthe outer end of the roll, this form of the roll preventing theformation of an angle upon any part of the roll, which exerts pressureupon the upper d of a boot or shoe, as shown in Fig. 1, in which theboot or shoe is shown in section.

e represents a roll, which is mounted to rotate loosely upon a stud orjournal e', affixed to a slide e2, which is adapted to move verticallybetween guides e3 e3, affixed to the supporting-frame. The roll e islocated below the steel roll c, and its periphery is composed of asleeve or sheath e4, of rubber or other suitable yielding material.

The object of the roll e is to support the tread-surface of the outersole d of the boot or shoe at a point below the roll c and exert anupward pressure, which causes the roll c to atten the feather-edge ofthe inner sole d2. The roll e is adapted to be pressed upwardly to exertthe desired kdegree of pressure of the innersole and upper against theroll cby means of a treadle or other suitable device, (not shown,) whichacts through a rod e5, connected with'the slide e2 to raise the rolleand exert any pressure of the inner sole and upper against the rolll cthat the operator may desire. The yielding periphery'of the roll eprevents defacement of the tread-surface of the outer sole during theoperation. The periphery of the roll e is preferably tapered, its largerend being coincident withthe larger end of the roll c. This form of theroll e causes the "maximum pressure to be exerted upon the edge of theinner sole and the part of the upper that bears uponsaid edge, thepressure decreasing from saidtedge toward the central portion of theinner sole, as will' be seen by lreference to Fig. l.

f represents a roll mounted to rotate loosely upon a stud f', which issupported by a slide f2, connected to the supporting-frame by a screw orbolt fpassing through a slot f 4 in said slide. The roll f has ayielding periphery, composed of rubber or other suitable material, andit is arranged to bear upon theedge of the outer sole d', as shown inFig. 1, said roll forming a yielding-surfaced rolling gage, whichdetermines the position of-the edge of the inner sole, with reference tothe inner end of the roll c and permitsthe boot or shoe to be movedeasily along by the operator during the progressive rolling of the ICOupper and inner sole, the yielding surface of the roll f preventinginjury to or defacement of the edge of the outer sole. The slide f2 isrendered adjustable by the slot #and boltf, so that the roll f can beadjusted to accommodate the width of the projecting portion of the outersole. In some boots and shoes the outer sole projects farther from theoutside edge of the inner sole than in others, and as it is desirablethat the edge of the inner sole be presented to the roll c at a pointnear the inner end of the latter it follows that the adjustability ofthe roll f, which permits the edge of the outer sole to extend, itnecessary, inside of the inner end of the roll 0, is a very desirablefeature.

The roll c is rotated by power applied in any suitable way, thepower-applying means being here shown as a shaft t', rotated by adrivingbelt running on a pulley fi', the pinion i2 on said shaft and thegearing il on the shaft b meshing with the pinion 2.2.

In the operation of the machine above described the operator, holdingthe boot or shoe in his hands, as indicated in Fig. 2, interposes thesame between the rolls c and e, as shown in Fig. l, the roll e beingdepressed by the operators foot to permit the insertion o one edge ofthe boot or shoe. The operator then, exerting the desired pressure onthe roll e, moves the boot or shoe along until all parts ot the edge otthe inner sole have been subjected to the action of the roll c. It willbe seen that by thus applying a progressive rolling pressure to theinner sole and upper, the feather-edge of the inner sole is laid orfiattened down and the upper folded or bent sharply over the edge of theinner sole without the possibility of indenting or det'aeing the upper.During the operation the operator pulls the upper over to bring it to asufficiently-close bearing on the edge ot' the inner sole, so that thefold formed in the upper by the rolling action is inevitably parallelwith the edge 01": the inner sole.

I claiml. The combination of a smooth-surfaced roll of rigid material, ayielding surfaced pressure-roll movable toward and from the rigid rolland adapted to bear on the bottom ot the outer sole of a boot or shoeinterposed between the rolls, the axes ot' the said rolls beingparallel, and a yielding-surfaced gageroll adapted to bear on the edgeof the outer sole, as set forth.

2. The combination ot a smooth-surfaced roll of rigid material, ayielding surfaced pressure-roll movable toward and from the rigid rolland having its axis parallel with that of the first-mentioned roll, ayielding-surfaced gage-roll adjustable toward and from the inner ends ofsaid rolls, and means for securing the gage-roll at any position towhich it may be adjusted, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses, this 5th day of November, A. D.1891.

EDXVARD VVOODARD.

Witnesses:

SAMUEL L. RYDER, IRA A. Lenen.

